This invention relates to bakery products and equipment for making same, and more particularly to a piece of bakery equipment for making funnel cakes and the like.
Conventionally, funnel cakes are made manually by dispensing an amount of funnel cake batter from a funnel-shaped dispenser onto a pan or skillet in a deep fat fryer or the like. The distinctive spiral-like shape of the funnel cake is formed by the user by moving the funnel dispenser in a generally spiral pattern as the batter is dispensed into the hot fat or oil. Certain improvements to such funnel cake dispensers have been designed such as shown U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,879 to Wilson. However, making funnel cakes manually has some distinct disadvantages. Since the entire process is under manual control, the results are inconsistent from cake-to-cake. For example, the shape of funnel cakes can differ significantly, depending on the pattern traced out by the user as he or she drops the batter into the hot fat. A misshapen cake can also result when two funnel cakes cooking in the same hot fat happen to contact each other early in the cooking process. Since it is up to the user to remove the cooked funnel cake from the deep fat at the proper time, the resulting funnel cake can be undercooked, overcooked, or greasy, depending upon the amount of time the user leaves the cake in the deep fat. In addition to the variations in shape mentioned above, the funnel cakes made by hand can vary dramatically in size, depending upon the amount of batter deposited by the user in the hot fat. In addition to these disadvantages, with the prior equipment for making funnel cakes, the rate at which cakes can be made is severely limited by the amount of space available in the deep fat fryer. An increased rate of cake production is possible only by increasing the number of fryers with an accompanying increase in the amount of cleaning involved. In addition, an operator who is responsible for more than one deep fat fryer will be even less likely to remove the cooked funnel cake at the proper time and to have the time to pour consistently good funnel cakes.
Among the several objects and features of the present invention may be noted the provision of bakery equipment which automates the making of funnel cakes.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of bakery equipment which makes funnel cakes at a relatively rapid rate.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of bakery equipment which makes funnel cakes of consistent shape.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of bakery equipment which results in more consistent cooking of funnel cakes.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of bakery equipment which results in funnel cakes of consistent taste.
Other objects and features wiil be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.